This article describes the initiatives of doctorate of nursing practice (DNP)-prepared nurses in a large healthcare system supporting the DNP competencies as outlined by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. The goal of this group was to demonstrate the impact of DNP education on the roles for nurse administrators, advanced practice nurses, and educators in a large health system. Exemplars profile nurse administrators, clinical nurse specialists, and a nurse educator.

BACKGROUND: Students enter Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) programs for varying reasons. An understanding of motivational factors is needed so nurse educators can address upon program entry student engagement strategies to promote retention and success in completing a DNP program. This article presents the findings of a descriptive study that explored newly admitted students' motivational factors for pursing DNP education. METHOD: A 20-item online survey was distributed to newly admitted DNP students at a university in western Pennsylvania...

BACKGROUND: Doctor of nursing practice (DNP) students need to develop health policy competencies. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing formed the Faculty Policy Think Tank (FPTT) in 2015, which developed recommendations about health policy curriculum at all levels of nursing education including the DNP. PROBLEM: Prior to the FPTT recommendations, there were no standardized examples of health policy competencies and their evaluation. APPROACH: A DNP health policy course was redesigned based on the FPTT recommendations...

BACKGROUND: Despite increased enrollment in doctoral programs and the encouraging numbers of graduates intending to pursue faculty positions, lack of adequate preparedness to assume the faculty role may adversely impact retention and consequently undermine efforts to reduce the shortage. PURPOSE: Understanding doctoral nursing students' and recent graduates' expectations of their educational experience related to preparation for an academic career is needed to inform curricular revisions and advise guidance to ensure role readiness...

AIM: The aim was to understand how health policy education is currently being delivered in the United States' graduate nursing programs. METHODS: This exploratory cross-sectional design used an anonymous online survey to target graduate nursing students attending American Association of College of Nursing (AACN) member institutions. RESULTS: Over 75% of the sample (n = 140) reported taking a dedicated health policy course and 71.5% ( n = 131) of the sample responded that a health policy course was required and an equal distribution among master's and doctoral students...

Academic and clinical site partnerships are not new. However, many of these have not resulted in graduates of nursing education programs who are prepared to fulfill their full potential as newly employed professionals. This article describes an education program for Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP) students in which the students, under the close supervision of academic faculty, utilize their statistical analyses and complex system coursework to study and address "wicked" problems faced by health care organizations...

BACKGROUND: Perinatal depression (PD) screening has been defined for decades, but treatment remains ill-defined, with few mental health (MH) providers helping depressed women during this delicate time. The nurse practitioner (NP) is in a position to help women through PD with the use of a collaborative treatment model. AIMS: This DNP (doctor of nursing practice) inquiry investigated a stepped collaborative care model (CCM) to see whether the PD model improved time from referral to evaluation and decreased depression scores over a 6-month treatment period for women who came to an NP MH practice...

BACKGROUND: Traditional advising may not meet the needs of doctor of nursing practice (DNP) students. Founded on the principles of appreciative inquiry, appreciative advising serves as a promising alternative model. PURPOSE: The purpose of this pilot study was to determine feasibility of a DNP appreciative advising model to advise students through the rigors of DNP education and improve student and faculty satisfaction. METHODS: Faculty were oriented to the model and provided comprehensive guidebooks...

Doctorally prepared nurses are well equipped to provide solutions to complex issues in today's rapidly changing health care environment. Collaborative relationships between doctor of nursing practice (DNP)- and doctor of philosophy (PhD)-prepared nurses facilitate timely translation of research into practice, enhanced educational opportunities, and development of interventions to improve health outcomes; however, challenges have been identified that hinder collaboration. This article highlights a three-pronged innovative and structured approach to identify individual student strengths, facilitate collaboration among DNP and PhD students, and set the foundation for implementation of a strengths-based curriculum during the doctoral educational experience...

Nurse practitioners frequently encounter ethical dilemmas, and their identification is essential to effective resolution. An innovative approach involving collaboration between doctor of nursing practice (DNP) and doctor of philosophy (PhD) faculty was used to address this need in a graduate nursing program. The results included a broader understanding of the synergy of the two educational backgrounds in translating and delivering evidence-based practices. The development and use of realistic case studies was a teaching strategy for ethics education...

The advancement of the doctor of nursing practice (DNP) degree and the need for nurse researchers with a doctor of philosophy (PhD) has led to significant growth in doctoral nursing education. Some DNP graduates have chosen to pursue a second terminal degree. This descriptive study explored the experiences of students completing a DNP-to-PhD pathway program. Data analysis revealed that DNP-to-PhD students desired acceptance in academia. Implications suggest the need for additional pathway programs, clear communication about program outcomes for both degrees, formal teaching preparation for all nurse educators, and collaborative opportunities for DNP- and PhD-prepared faculty...

Doctor of nursing practice (DNP) projects are summative evaluations of enactment of the DNP Essentials. However, information about structure, process, and outcomes of DNP projects is scarce. Guided by an enhanced actualized DNP model, this study tested the effect of a PhD-DNP-site mentor model to guide DNP projects. Time-to-complete assignments, defense, and graduation improved; high satisfaction for students, mentors, and faculty were found; and a strengthened academic-practice partnership occurred, leading to additional student placements...

The purpose of this study was to explore, analyze, and describe nursing doctoral students' perceptions of factors that impacted them during their doctoral program. Answers to an open-ended question, in a national descriptive survey study of nursing doctoral students across the United States, were analyzed using Colaizzi procedural methods as a guideline. The content analysis identified issues unique to doctor of nursing practice (DNP) students that related to lack of clarity for the DNP degree and student concerns within academic settings...

A doctor of nursing practice (DNP) portfolio rubric for faculty to use when evaluating student portfolios and for students to use to critique their work is described. No rubrics or tools were found in the literature that provided guidelines to evaluate the extent to which portfolio exemplars meet American Association of Colleges of Nursing Essentials of Doctoral Education for Advanced Nursing Practice. The rubric provides criteria to evaluate whether portfolio documents demonstrate achievement of the DNP Essentials at a "developing, proficient, or exceptional" level...

AIM: The purpose of this study was to explore, analyze, and describe nursing doctoral students' perceptions of factors that impacted them during their doctoral program. BACKGROUND: There are two major pathways for nurses to earn a doctoral degree, the most recent of which is the doctor of nursing practice (DNP) degree. Enrollment in and graduates from nursing DNP programs have increased dramatically over the last decade. METHOD: Answers to an open-ended question in a national descriptive survey study of nursing doctoral students across the United States were analyzed...

BACKGROUND: The development of a comprehensive and structured clinical curriculum map can outline the specific content covered throughout a nurse practitioner program and provide a method for identifying redundancy and omissions in the didactic clinical content. METHOD: A curriculum map outlining the specific clinical content covered in each didactic course in a Master of Science in Nursing and Doctor of Nursing Practice advanced practice program was created. The curriculum map incorporated accreditation standards, certification testing domains, and common primary care diagnoses...

Increasing numbers of doctoral-prepared nurses are joining interprofessional health care teams. Interestingly, the evolving doctoral programs for nurse leaders can be confusing to other health care professionals. Advanced education for nursing leaders is driven by a growing need for cost-effective implementation of evidence-based practices. Professional nursing organizations and nursing education programs have redefined education to respond to the call for knowledgeable experts to lead evidence-based quality improvements...

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) programs are proliferating around the US as advanced practice nursing programs evolve to build capacity by adding content on professional leadership, policy, and quality improvement to the traditional clinical content. One of the eight "Essentials" for DNP education is "Information systems/technology and patient care technology for the improvement and transformation of health care."[1] A required graduate course was revised and updated in 2017 to provide a foundation in clinical informatics for DNPs, as well as for nursing informatics specialists...